Ranked #1352

Kanojo wo Mamoru 51 no Houhou (Manga)

It's a shame no one has written a review on this series yet.
Based on my findings, this manga is based on a real incidents, the 1923 Great Kanto or Tokyo Earthquake. Here's a reference link, photos are available too: http://www.eas.slu.edu/Earthquake_Center/1923EQ/

Story:9
The story is basically about a 21 year-old young man who saw his middle school mate, also his crush hours before the earthquake happened. He also has some regrets towards her too. After the earthquake, the 2 of them begin to head towards (somewhere) and met new friends etc. Tragedies are common in the process of their journey.

The story is vastly different from several manga series out there today. Real life catastrophes which are told in such a realistic yet not-too-dark way in a manga, there aren't that many out there.

There are explanations for what happened during the earthquake too, like fire whirls, liquefaction etc. which helps the reader understand more about catastrophes.

Now, to more in-depth about the storyline itself. The story is intriguing and interesting, in the way that not only the tragical parts are presented well but there are also some comedic times to lighten the mood. Plus the 2 main characters shed some of their past and impressions of each other over time, so that the story is not filled with disaster-related content oso. There is variety in content and you can see the characters grow over time.

Art:9
Amazing. It seems that the mangaka is a great artist, using various art techniques like cross-sketching (or something), and I can identify some parts where charcoal is used to draw the panels. I must confess, I am not a great art student but I watched Canvas 2 too :D.

Expressions are amazing, and aftershocks were expressed very well. The disaster scenes, panicking scenes etc. were expressed very well too. And there was an overall dark environment to it with the amazing art.

Character: 8
Characters are understandably tough to develop given that the main focus of this manga is the earthquake. But in-between the disaster scenes the characters were constantly developed, of their past, of interactions with each other and so on. And the characters are constantly growing in terms of willpower and trust in each other, etc.

Enjoyment:8-9
Well I must state that I do not like dark manga series a lot, but this is really nice. The mangaka didn't put it to some kind of doomsday for every chapter, and that is really good. Cause the content is depressing and the story seems to paint a starker and starker picture for the main characters for every chapter progressing.

Overall:9
Amazing piece of work. Tons of storyline, and amazing artwork. A masterpiece regarding the Great Kanto Earthquake. read more

Story: 8

The story is based on real life events with some fiction added to the story line. The manga reveals how humans can be cruel and merciful during a life threatening crisis. But the work also reminds us that humans do not have to resort to cruel and heinous acts such as rape, looting, or other crimes that people normally would not commit. The author shows that humans are savages by nature, but there are good in people too. I personally believe this story was very well thought out. The main character is a good-nature 21 year-old that is in conflict with himself.

Art: 7

As you read you can see that the artist put lot of work into the drawings. The panels of the manga are well distributed. Well organized, as you read you can tell where to read and so on. Emphasis on significant events, so that people will realize that the event will be important in the story later on. Although, the artist did not put anything spectacular in his work, but his subtle changes make the manga a whole lot better.

Character: 8

The main character is a man that is very straight forward with good intentions. The author made the main characters sense of justice his down fall. The character starts to have internal conflicts which poses problems for others around him.

The extras of the work are either supporting other victims of the earthquake or causing more mischief, I believe the author is correct with this. In the work you will see people taking advantage of the crisis by either committing crimes or recruiting for religion beliefs.

Other people are lending out a helping hand and putting their all into helping others. I believe that the author is correct about this decision of making it this way.

In a real life threatening crisis the helping people will be the minority and the people that give into temptation of committing crimes would most likely be a majority.

Enjoyment: 9

If you dislike cruelty and reality of life, chances are you're not going to like this manga. This manga shows the cruelty of humans. If you wish to read something that will life your morale up this is not the manga for you. I personally enjoyed this very much.

Reality of life is something I enjoy reading about, it shows that the live I am currently living should not be taken for granted and that I am actually extremely lucky, no matter what kind of ordeal I am faced with. When I read this, I can tell myself that what I'm facing right now is pale in comparison to those that experienced events such as the earthquake taking part in the manga.
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